Letter-box.



H. C. GILES.

LETTER BOX.

APPLIoATIoN funn oo'r.ao,1soa. 922,574. Patented May 25, 1909. l Rufus-Baur 1.l

1HE Nmmls PETERS ca., wAsHmcraN, vA c.

H. G. GILES.

LETTER BOX.

APPLIOATION FILED ooT.ao,1eoa.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Patented May 25, 1909.

THE NDRRIS PETERS CO UNIT STATESITENYI OFFIQF..

HERBERT C. GILES, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO WILLIAM WALLACE WHITE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LETTER-BOX.

Speccaton of Letters Patent.

Application filed. October 30, 1908.

Patented May 25, 1909.

Serial No. 460,355.

To all 'whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, IIERBERT'C. GILns, a citizen of the United States, residing at 248 West One Hundred and Thirty-third street, in the city, county', and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Letter-Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in letter boxes, and the object of the invention is to provide a construction in which mail may be deposited in the box in the usual manner, but Vfrom which it will be prevented from being withdrawn by unauthorized persons.

The invention includes the novel features of construction and arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and particularly set forth in the appended claims.

A letter box constructed in accordance with my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 represents axtransverse sectional view through such a box taken on line 1-1 of Fig. Fig. 2 is a front elevation. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified form. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the same. Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are detail views, and Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view of a -further modification.

Referring by reference characters to this drawing, the numeral 1 designates the box, which may be of any desired shape and size and for convenience is shown as of substantially rectangular form having an inclined bottom 2, which causes the mail contents of the box to tip forward toward the door 3, at all times. This door is an ordinary door, provided in the front of the box hinged at 4 and provided with a lock 5. In the front wall of the box above the door is located. an opening 6 of elongated rectangular form and ol' a size suitable for the admission of the mail matter. This opening is normally closed by a flap 7, which is hinged at the lower edge of the opening. A convenient manner of hinging it is to mount it pivotally upon a rod 8 which extends horizontally across the box just inside the lower edge of the opening 6. Spring means are provided for keeping the flap normally closed, being shown as spiral springs 9 coiled around the rod and having oppositely disposed ends 10 and 11 bearing respectively against the inside face of the front wall 1a of the box and the rear face of the flap 7. The spring is of sufficient tension to keep the opening 6 normally closed, but yields readily to permit the flap to be forced in for the entrance of the mail matter.

In order to effectually prevent the insertion of a wire or any instrument of this kind by which the contents of the box could be extracted if only the flap alon'e were used, I provide an apron 12, which has its edge hinged to the upper or free edge of the iiap as shown at 13, and when the fiap is in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, the apron is held in a horizontal position by a lug or proj ection 14 which is carried on the hinge rod 13, said projection being composed of a rigid right angular bracket. From the other edge of the apron 12 depends a supplemental apron 15 which is hinged to the main apron 12 at 16 and hangs therefrom in a vertical position by gravity.

In placing mail within the box the iiap 7 is pushed inward and as it is so pushed in the apron 12 swings downwardly maintaining its position at right angles to the flap 7 until the latter has reached a horizontal position, during which movement the supplemental apron descends, but remains during this descent in a vertical plane. The flap 7 may be pushed still farther downward, but movement of the aprons 12 and 15 toward the door of the box is limited by ribs 17 on the side of the box which are engaged by projections 1S on the ends of the supplemental apron 15. Owing to the inclination of the bottom 2 of the box and the corresponding inclination of the lower part of the rear wall as shown at 2a, any letters which are dropped into the box are caused to tilt forward.

If there be any accumulations of letters in the box, it will be seen that as the flap is pushed in and the apron moved downward, they will be coniined beneath the aprons and it will be utterly impossible for them to be abstracted through the admission opening. Instead of using a spring to keep the flap 7 closed, I may provide means such as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. In this 'form I provide a pair of rods 19, located on opposite sides of the box and which are pivotally connected at their upper ends to the lugs 19a on the rear side of the flap 7*". A portion of each rod in proximity to the pivot is curved downward and outward on an arc concentric with the pivotal axis of the iiap and is provided with a portion or neck 19h, which projects through a slot in the iront wall o'll the box. From this point the rod is carried back into the box and then descends to the point near the bottom where it is pivotally connected with the rearwardly extending arm of a Weighted bottom piece 21, pivoted at 22 to the box and having an upwardly extending ledge 23. The weight of this bottom piece will tend to keep the parts in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3. When, however, the flap 7a is pushed inward the aprons are carried down in the manner heretofore described and the rod 18 is pushed downward raising the weighted portion of the pivoted bottom piece 21, and as the mail drops on toy this bottom piece, the additional weight of the mail assists in closing the iiap. In this form the ribs 17 are not necessary as the rod 19 takes the place of or performs the duties of the ribs 17. The flap 12 may also be provided with a lug preventing the part 15 from being pushed back at a greater angle than 180. The supplemental apron 15 may be used in either form and have its lower edge serrated, il' desired, as indicated at 15a, but I may in some instances and where the dimensions oi the box are such as to make this suitable, omit the supplemental apron 15 and use only a single apron, such as indicated at 12aL in Fi 8. In this event, the apron 12 a will preferagbly be held normally in an inclined position as shown in full lines in Y Fig. 8 by giving a corresponding inclination to the lug 14, and the free edge of the apron provided with lugs 18a, which would cooperate with the ribs 17 a.

`Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A mail box having a suitable door and an opening for the admission of mail, a yielding flap hinged at the lower edge of said opening and normally closing the same, and an apron connected to the free edge of the llap and extending across the upper portion ofthe box when the flap is in closed position.

2. A mail box having a suitable door and an admission opening near the top thereof, a yielding lap hinged at the lower edge of the opening and normally closing the same, an apron pivotally connected with the upper edge of the flap and a lug carried by the flap for holding the apron normally at right angles to. the flap.

3. A mail box having a suitable door and an admission opening near the top thereof, a yielding flap hinged to the lower edge of the opening and normally closing the same, an apron ivotally connected to the flap and normal y held at substantially right angles thereto, and a supplemental apron pivotally connected to the free edge ofthe said apron and depending therefrom. i

4. A mail box having a suitable door and an admission opening'near the top thereof, a yielding flap hinged to the lower edge ofthe opening and normally closing the same, an apron ,i'votally connected to the flap and normal'y held at substantially right angles thereto, a supplemental apron pivotally connected to the free edge oi' the said apron and depending therefrom, lugs or projections on the ends o'll one of said aprons, and ribs on the sides of the box with which said lugs or projections engage.

5. In a mail box having a suitable door, a bottom and rear wall inclined so as to tilt the mail forward, an admission opening near the top, a yielding flap normally closing said opening, and an apron Vcarried by the flap and designed to pass behind the inserted mail as the flap is moved inward and downward 'l'or the insertion of mail.

In testimony whereof I have signedmy Y name to this specification in the presence of two subscrlblng witnesses.

WM. WALLACE. WHITE, ELLA L. GILEs. 

